“Just this one.” Seeing Ning Xueyan going out, Ao Chenyi hummed softly and knocked on the tea table while speaking.
“Your Highness, I’ve used it!” Ning Xueyan was speechless. She turned around and spoke with a very sincere attitude.
“I don’t care!” Ao Chenyi said lazily. Looking at her delicate face and slightly depressed look, Ao Chenyi narrowed his eyes slightly and felt somewhat comfortable, his depression fading away.
“But I care!” It was a pity that Ning Xueyan could only say that in her mind. Ao Chenyi would not listen to her words.
Being stared at by him, Ning Xueyan could not say “no”.
After pausing, Ning Xueyan turned, went over to the table, and poured some water into the cup. Then, she put down the teapot, pushed the tea to Ao Chenyi, and watched him stretch out his slender hand with elegance and laziness as he picked up the cup, drank the tea, and laid down the cup leisurely.
Suddenly, there was the sound of quick footsteps outside the door, followed by Lanning’s voice. “Young Lady, Young Lady!”
“What’s going on?” Ning Xueyan asked calmly.
“Madam Dowager’s several stewardesses, together with some guards, are coming in at the door. They said they are looking for a burglar. Young Lady, do you need to prepare for it?” Lanning asked carefully
Lanning was clever. Only when Ning Xueyan suddenly let them go out did Lanning know something was bound to happen. So as soon as she found the stewardesses coming, she left Qingyu there to deal with them and returned to report it to Ning Xueyan immediately.
“They are looking for a burglar?” Ning Xueyan looked back, her gaze falling on Ao Chenyi.
“They’re looking for me? Or I’ll go out to meet them now!” Prince Yi seemed to be in a good mood and asked lazily while raising his eyebrows.
“You wanna go out now? What a shameless thing to say!” Ning Xueyan thought in her mind while gritting her teeth. He could leave Ning Xueyan’s room naturally and confidently, but Ning Xueyan’s reputation would be ruined after that!
“Lanning, will they check every room?” Ning Xueyan asked Lanning calmly.
“Yes, they said that it was Madam Dowager’s order. All of us, including the Young Ladies, must be checked because it’s of great importance. They’re afraid that the thief is hiding in the house now and will leave at night,” Lanning answered. Although she had just come in a hurry, she still heard what the stewardesses had said to Qingyu.
“Prince Yi, can you go back first?” Ning Xueyan felt embarrassed while looking at Ao Chenyi, who still was lying on Ning Xueyan’s bed.
“I can’t go out now. What if someone comes in and finds me lying on your bed?” Ao Chenyi said with interest in his eyes, which had always been cold. It seemed that he was very willing to give it a try here.
“In order to please Honored Consort Ya and the Third Prince, Ning Zu’an and Madam Dowager might murder me under the pretext of some special reasons,” Ning Xueyan thought.
If Ao Chenyi was not strong enough to kill her at will, Ning Xueyan would like to kick him out directly. She raised her bright watery eyes, just looking into Ao Chenyi’s cold eyes.
It seemed like it had been a long time. Ning Xueyan stepped forward, pushed Ao Chenyi onto the bed, and wrapped him up in the quilt. Then she put down the bed-curtain. After that, she went to the dressing table and pulled out the hairpin on her head at random, her dark hair scattering in an instant.
At this time, Ning Xueyan could not hesitate. Since she could not reason with Ao Chenyi, she could only save herself.
“Lanning, go back and tell those stewardesses that I’ve been in discomfort since I got back from Madam Dowager’s place and I’m resting in bed. Tell them that they can come in, but the guards are not allowed to come in. Otherwise, I’ll commit suicide if my reputation is ruined. At that time, they’ll also get into trouble.”
After doing all that, Ning Xueyan resolutely got into bed. After thinking for a moment, she took off her coat and threw it on the screen, then she sat down on the bed and lay down.
No matter what Ao Chenyi did in Lord Protector’s Manor, he could not be found here at this time. Otherwise, Ning Xueyan’s reputation would be completely destroyed.
The reason Ning Xueyan ordered Lanning like that was that she wanted the stewardesses to understand that if something happened here, they would never be able to bear it. What happened to Ning Xueyan before made the people in the manor realize that Ning Xueyan was not the weak and cowardly Fifth Young Lady.
Of course, the deeper reason was that she wanted to stop those guards from entering her room. Compared with the stewardesses, these guards were the most likely people to find Ao Chenyi.
“Yes, I know. I’ll go right there.” Lanning was a clever maid. She immediately understood the meaning of Ning Xueyan’s words. She turned and walked toward the stewardesses, who were coming over.
As soon as she lay down, Ning Xueyan found herself wrapped around her waist. Then she heard a cold voice say with a smile, “Yan’er, I’m sleeping with you in my arms.”
Ning Xueyan could not help but flush and she took a deep breath to suppress her anger. Suddenly, she smelled a faint fishy smell. After thinking for a moment, Ning Xueyan understood. She suddenly turned around and asked, “You’re injured?”
“Yes, but it’s not serious!” Ao Chenyi raised his head and smiled unconcernedly. Looking at the girl’s cold and angry face, he chuckled in a good mood, as if he did not know he was in danger at all.
Outside the door came footsteps and the voices of Lanning and Qingyu, who were talking about something with two older female servants. From the voices, Ning Xueyan knew that the two older female servants wanted to break in with the guards, but were being stopped by the two maids. It seemed that the people of Madam Dowager’s courtyard still did not take Ning Xueyan seriously. Of course, Ning Xueyan also was sure that they would not dare to break in with the guards.
Ning Xueyan glanced over at the embroidering area. Occasionally, she would embroider some patterns. Now, her unfinished embroidery was over there. Aside from that, there were needles and scissors. Judging by the voices outside the door, it seemed that they had made a deal at this time. The sound of footsteps was getting closer and closer, they had arrived at the outside room.
Ning Xueyan took a look at the teacup on the table beside the bed, and then another look at the scissors. She had an idea in mind. She pushed Ao Chenyi to the inside and covered his face with the quilt. “Prince Yi, don’t make a sound, unless you’re not afraid of the emperor’s suspicion.”
Ning Xueyan did not care what Ao Chenyi had come here for, but it had to be of great concern; otherwise, Ao Chenyi would not have come in person. Ning Xueyan could not guess what was in Lord Protector’s Manor that was worth Ao Chenyi coming for. But she knew that if he were to be discovered, he would get into trouble, even though he was Prince Yi.
Even if he could say that he went to Lord Protector’s Manor to privately meet with Ning Xueyan, it still would inevitably arouse the suspicion of the emperor and even spoil his great affairs, which was the reason why he was hiding here. He could not be discovered by anyone.
If the private meeting with Ning Xueyan would not attract anyone’s attention, Ao Chenyi would certainly not hesitate to explain to others that he had come here to privately meet with Ning Xueyan. As for Ning Xueyan’s reputation, he did not care at all.
Ao Chenyi did not expect that Ning Xueyan would dare to press his head under the quilt or would not care that he was the powerful Prince Yi. Therefore, he did not stop Ning Xueyan due to his sudden astonishment. Although he still had his arms tightly wrapped around her waist, he did not move anymore. Under the quilt, Ao Chenyi slightly narrowed his eyes, which were full of interest.
Ning Xueyan resolutely picked up the scissors. When she retracted her hands, she knocked over the teacup, which fell to the ground, making a breaking sound. Then there was Ning Xueyan’s cry of pain.
Lanning and Qingyu, who had just arrived at the door, suddenly changed their faces and rushed in when they heard the sound. The two older female servants who followed them were also worried and hurried to come in after Lanning and Qingyu. The two older female servants had confronted Lanning and Qingyu outside the room just now, trying to come in with the guards for inspection, but they dared not ask the guards to come in the end.
If something really happened to the Fifth Young Lady, they would die before they realized it.
In the room, the teacup was broken and the tea was splashed around. Ning Xueyan was sitting on the bed with her long hair scattered, holding the scissors tightly and staring coldly at the two stewardesses, who had just come to the door. Due to her excitement, her hands were punctured by the scissors with blood dripping down.
“Young Lady, Young Lady, what’s… what’s wrong with you?” Lanning and Qingyu were shocked. They reached out their hands, wanting to grab the scissors. But they were afraid they would hurt her, so they dared not fully exert themselves.
“Didn’t you say that the guards must come in for inspection? Is it really grandmother’s order? Or do you intentionally want to pick fault with me and want to force me to die?” Ning Xueyan stared at the two stewardesses coldly, gritting her teeth. Obviously, she was very angry. She held the scissors firmly and refused to let go, despite how the two maids grabbed and persuaded.
“Fifth Young Lady… Fifth Young Lady, it’s not true. We, we didn’t ask them to come in. They… they’re all outside.” The two older female servants did not expect Ning Xueyan to react so violently. They were so frightened that sweat broke out on their foreheads and they shook their hands vigorously.
The Fifth Young Lady was so excited that anything could happen. At that time, neither of them could bear the responsibility. Now the two older servants felt it was lucky that they had listened to the words of Lanning and Qingyu and did not ask the guards to break in. Otherwise, it was highly possible that the Fifth Young Lady would directly hurt herself with the scissors before talking to them.
It was said that a thief had entered the manor, so the stewardesses only needed to check the manor according to the rules. Whether the thief could be found or not had nothing to do with them.
“Young Lady, they didn’t come in. The guards are all waiting outside. You may rest assured. Be careful, don’t hurt yourself. If you hurt yourself, we won’t want to live.” Lanning went to snatch the scissors in Ning Xueyan’s hands while screaming out. Her words made the two older female servants feel more frightened and sweat even more.
They regretted accepting this task and coming here. And they also regretted accepting the suggestion of Madam Dowager’s servants to check the Young Lady’s room with the guards. Madam Dowager had asked them to check by themselves so as not to destroy Young Lady’s reputation. Had they known that the Fifth Young Lady was so fierce, they would not have dared to let the guards search her room.
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